via: supercars.net
The 1980s was the decade of the supercar. During those years, you had the Lamborghini Countach, the Ferrari Testarossa, the Porsche 930, the De Tomaso Pantera GT5, the Lotus Esprit Turbo, The Ford Escort RS200, and the BMW M1. Every kid had a supercar poster on their wall and many schoolchildren would argue at recess on what their favorite supercar was. The TV shows were also packed with supercars. You had Don Johnson in Miami vice with the Ferrari Testarossa and the Lamborghini Countach in the Cannon Ball Run.
It was an era of imagination. It was about being outlandish and creating the best poster car out there, even if it drove worse than a tractor. It was also the speed race for all supercar manufacturers. Who could be the first to make a 200 mph car? It was literally the cold war between car manufacturers. You also had crazy racing series too such as Group B rallying, exciting touring car races, and legendary F1 races. What a time to be a car enthusiast.
I can’t believe how much has changed since the 1980s. Cars have obviously become a lot easier to drive and also a lot more friendly to the environment. You have supercars that are powered by electricity (something mos people in the 1980s would never have dreamt of). Another big change is the fact that these supercar manufacturers are now actually profitable nowadays, as in the 1980s most of them were close to bankruptcy.
The 1980s may have been a horrible era for the muscle car, but for everything else it was great. Music was at a high, films were getting better and better, technology was evolving, Ronald Reagan was in power, people had a lot of money, and cars like the Lamborghini Countach were around. Some of these greats were banned in America, but most managed to get through albeit with ugly plastic bumpers.
The Rise Of The Insane Italians
via: drive-my.com
Everybody in the 1980s loved an Italian car. They were full of passion and soul, plus most of the time they were beautifully designed. Prior to the 1980s, Italian cars were very elegant machines. You had Ferrari with their lineup of Grand Tourers and Lamborghini with the Urraco and Jarama. Yes, you had a few supercars, but they were designed to be classy, not wild.
This all began to change. In 1978, Lamborghini decided to make the Countach a bit wilder. They gave it wider arches and even lower suspension. It was so impractical and it had the ground clearance of a snow shovel. Either way, that car lit a spark in many people and soon the supercar world began to change.
The Countach quickly became a fan favorite amongst enthusiasts, especially after its appearance in the Cannon Ball run film in 1981. That was one wild car, with a huge spoiler mounted at the rear and the front. Ferrari was quick to respond to the Countach’s success, and they came up with the Testarossa.
It was the replacement for the 512 Boxer, and it was so much more over the top. It was stupidly wide, very boxy, and it originally only had one wing mirror planted right on the A-pillar. It was a crazy car, and it quickly became a fan favorite as it was the star car in Miami Vice.
Soon, these two cars became the bedroom wall poster kings. It was literally the el Classico of supercars and schoolchildren would argue for hours and hours on which car was better. These cars both played a huge part in the youths of many people growing up. They were both so cool and they were very fast. Despite Lamborghini completely fabricating the performance figures for their cars during the 1980s, the Countach was still one of the fastest cars at the time. The Testarossa was also pretty quick too, and flat out it could do a similar top speed to the Countach.
There were other great Italian supercars launched during the 1980s. De Tomaso launched the Pantera GT5. This was a sexy supercar powered by a huge muscular Ford V8. It was wide and the front of it was so low it looked like a snowplow. Then there was the Lancia 037, the successor to the great Stratos. That car really dominated the world rally, and actually beat the AWD Audi Quattro to win the 1983 Championship.
You also had the Ferrari 308, which was famously used in the Magnum P.I. TV show. It was such a sexy car, and soon that was transformed by Ferrari into the 288 GTO monster. The 288 GTO was made in homologation for the Group B rally series, unfortunately, it never got to race since the series was canceled before it could ever properly enter. That car was a fire spitter, and nowadays they are worth over 1 to 2 million dollars.
The best one though for most people was the Ferrari F40. Made to celebrate 40 years of Ferrari, it was the first-ever production car to hit over 200 mph. It was powered by a twin-turbo V8 and it was lighter than Iggy Pop. The F40 was seriously quick, hitting 60 in just 4.2 seconds. That’s still pretty quick today. It also handled like a beast too, so race car drivers absolutely loved it. This was the car that won the race to 200 mph. It’s insane to think though, that less than 40 years on we’re already past 300 mph.
The Italians back in the 1980s were full of imagination. They didn’t care whether or not if the car was unreliable, hard to drive, etc. In fact, companies like Lamborghini would sacrifice speed for style by fitting their cars with silly spoilers and over-the-top arches. They were all wild, and the number one aim was to make a stylish car. The Italians were the ones who defined the supercar for today’s world.
The best one though was the Rambo Lambo LM002. That was a Countach V12 powered SUV that was just too extreme. It was loved by people like Gaddafi and other oil tycoons due to the fact it was an absolute rocket on and off-road. The LM002 was unreliable, impractical, and heavily uneconomical. It was also heavily unprofitable, but that didn’t stop Lamborghini from fitting a few LM002 models with a 7.2-liter speedboat engine. Many people never believed a Lamborghini SUV would work, until they launched the Urus. A car that will soon become the best-selling model in their history.
The Rise of The Germans
picture via: carmagazine.co.uk
The Germans were known for their sports cars. There most popular one was the 911, and that was a car everyone loved. However, the issue was that compared to the Italian cars it was just too slow. What Porsche decided to do to keep up with the Italian supercars, was bolt a turbo onto the 911. The 911 930 Turbo was born in 1975 but wasn’t till the 1980s when things started to get pretty spicy. It was 1978 when the 3.3 Turbo was launched, and that was a car that could outrun almost anything on the road at the time.
The word “Turbo” became a craze in the 1980s, and as such the 930 911 Turbo quickly became a fan favorite. It was an iconic poster car of the 1980s, and it was the car to have. The “Turbo” body as Porsche called it, consisted of a huge ducktail spoiler, wide arches, the words “Turbo” or “Porsche” on the side of the car, and iconic Fuchs wheels. This car was nicknamed the “Widowmaker” due to how hard it was to drive.
Then there was the BMW M1, the first-ever M car created back in 1978. It was a crazy car designed by Italdesign and developed by both BMW and Lamborghini (until they pulled out due to low funds). It was a homologation car, that even had its own racing series known as the pro-car championship. It’s a car rich in pedigree, yet it never nearly happened. It was a joint project between Lamborghini and BMW, and Lamborghini pulled out due to financial woes. Nevertheless, this car was still made and it is the second mass production mid-engined BMW.
You then had Audi, who were at their absolute peak during the 1980s. They were winning all the rallies with their Audi Quattro. Some may say that car isn’t a supercar. However, the Quattro S1 would hit 60 in under 4 seconds, faster than anything out there. It too was a fan favorite, unfortunately though by 1985 due to the closure of Group B rallying, it started to fade away a little.
The top car though was the 959. The great rival to the F40 was 3 mph off 200. It was the first-ever car to have adjustable suspension, tire pressure monitors, etc. It was a computer on wheels hence it was (illegally) owner by people like Bill gates. it was never sold in the US, but Gates still imported one. Unfortunately, it sat in a San Francisco hanger for 13 years due to customs, etc. That car almost killed Porsche, as they spent beyond their shoestring budget to make the car. The company was broke when it was made, but what an achievement it was.
The British Were Also Pushing The Boat a Little
picture via: supercars.net
When you think of 1980s supercars, British cars don’t always come to mind. However, you have to remember it was Britain who made cars like the Lotus Esprit Turbo, the Ford Escort RS200, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato, and the TVR 420SEAC. Britain wasn’t the best when it came to supercars in the 1980s, but they offered a few healthy contenders.
The Esprit Turbo was the most loved. It was as silly as the Italian cars, yet more unreliable. It may have had a smaller engine, but it was still stupidly fast hitting a top speed of 168 mph. The V8 Vantage Zagato though was the fastest with a top speed of 186 mph. What an absolute rocket.
The Escort RS200 was the real deal though. Made in homologation for the Group B rally, it was a mid-engined turbocharged rocket. This is an underrated supercar, and actually, there aren’t too many cars that can keep up with it today. It was one of the greatest cars ever created, and it’s stupidly rare. There are many good replica models of these cars available today, but none of them are as good as the real thing.